


Survival is Key

by Tigae



Category: Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: AU from Hamster Ball scene, Charlie and Zach are BFF's, Families of Choice, I'm a fucking Viking!, Ida the Indominus is still bad, M/M, Not beta read - we die like men, Pack adoption, Sorry Not Sorry, Survivalist!Zach, Will add more tags as I go, Zach feels like a stressed out mom, Zach is outdoorsy, and is teaching Gray how to be too, because you know the girls will get into shit if you don't watch them, eventual Raptor squad shenanigans, hand wavey EVERYTHING!, so are Gray and Charlie, so far - Freeform, though I am not a man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:53:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22229749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigae/pseuds/Tigae
Summary: Zach knew one day he'd want to live in the rural mountains, away from people and civilization, so he made sure he knew what he was getting into when he eventually made that leap. Foresight has never felt so good. On the run from a psycho dinosaur neither he nor Gray recognize, Zach is putting all his survival teachings to the test. Training Gray and staying alive had never been so important. Especially when he comes upon a wounded raptor. The decision on what happens next weighs heavily on Zach's shoulders.  But spending time building his family of choice never felt so good.TL;DRZach didn't sign up for this bullshit, but he was going to pwn the fuck out of this dinosaur infested island!
Relationships: Eventually - Relationship, Gray Mitchell & Charlie, Gray Mitchell & Zach Mitchell, Gray Mitchell & Zach Mitchell & Raptor Squad, Owen Grady/Zach Mitchell, Zach Mitchel & Charlie
Comments: 42
Kudos: 173





	1. The survivalist awakens in the darkest of times

**Author's Note:**

> Dammit Chas! Always being encouraging and forceful and shit. Stop being awesome and leave some room for us!!!!!
> 
> ***IF YOU HAVE PAID TO READ THIS, IT HAS BEEN STOLEN! I HAVE NOT GIVEN ANY CONSENT FOR ANY OTHER SITE OR APP TO USE MY WORKS!!!***

***IF YOU HAVE PAID TO READ THIS, IT HAS BEEN STOLEN! I HAVE NOT GIVEN ANY CONSENT FOR ANY OTHER SITE OR APP TO USE MY WORKS!!!***

They end up at an abandoned building, vines overgrowing the walls and windows, doorways with no doors, trees popping out of holes in walls and ceilings. The entire building gave off a haunted mansion feel as Zach stepped through the open doorway. If anything, this place could keep them safe for a while. Wandering further in, they came upon a kitchen that had a door at least, and slowly pushed it open. Looking inside and seeing nothing but old appliances and kitchenware, they walked in. Inspecting everything available as they wandered through, Zach was pointing out things they could come back for, things they could take with them once they found a bag to take them in, and things they might be able to use now.

Opening drawers and cabinets, old cutlery and cooking utensils were pulled out and discarded as quickly as they were seen. Some had rusted, others had corroded, and even more were either unknown or unusable. A few forks and knives were salvaged, as well as a few sharpening stones, and the occasional pot or pan. They ended up in front of a giant freezer door and cracked it open.

“HOLY SHIT!” Jumping back, Zach and Gray both screamed and ducked behind a counter. Hearing the clatter of bones and flesh then silence, Zach peaked around the counter. A half-decayed skeleton had fallen through the door, landing almost right next to the brothers. Looking further back, Zach peered into the door, and seeing mostly darkness but no movement, crawled out with Gray behind him. Zach searched the depths of the freezer and seeing nothing but disturbed shelves and decayed food, he focused back on the skeleton at his feet. Grabbing the sickle claws and breaking them off the mostly decomposed hand, he handed them to Gray and bent back over to get the rest of the claws as he started to compartmentalize their day. “A sharp object is a good thing to have in any situation,” he was explaining to Gray, “so grab any you see at anytime and tuck it away. You never know when it might come in handy. But don’t over indulge either. You don’t want to be weighed down.”

Gray cataloged everything Zach was saying, even if he had heard it at some time before. Zach might have new information he hadn’t heard yet. He tucked one of the sickle claws into his hand and put the other in his pouch until Zach asked for it. Zach in the meantime had broken the rest of the claws off of the feet and stood up. “These should be good for now. If we need the hand claws, we can always come back later.” Zach stood back up and stretched his back, looking around the room for anything they might have missed. “I think we’ve gotten everything we can out of this room. Let’s move on to the next.”

Back out of the kitchen and into the main room, they walked into another open doorway that looked like it would lead into a garage. There were a pair of Jeeps inside. Both looked to be in relatively good shape, but once the hood was popped open, even Gray was able to notice they wouldn’t be driving anytime soon. “Well, there should be something in this room we can use. Maybe a large wrench to bludgeon things with or something. You look that way and I’ll check closer to the door.”

Gray wandered over to a table that looked like it had a few parts from one of the Jeeps pulled apart. A couple screwdrivers he tucked into his pouch, and the razor knife he put in his pocket, as well as a pack of spare blades for it. Wandering down the table to the tool chest and opened it up, noting most of the tools were damaged due to time or unusable, minus a few smaller screwdrivers and wrenches.

Zach had wandered closer to the doors, one eye keeping watch for anything suspicious, the other looking for anything useful. A crowbar on the floor next to one of the vehicles was grabbed and tested, being found acceptable. He also found an old rucksack in the back of the broken Jeep. A rustle caught his attention, eyes snapping out to search the forest. Backing slowly towards Gray, he hushed him and silently herded him further into the building. Turning his head, he eyed where they were going as he watched the open room in front of them at the same time.

Stopping right next to the doorway, Zach had Gray pressed between his body and the wall. He strained his ears and searched avidly, going from one hiding spot to the next. A heavy step felt, a loud sniff heard, and then a roar was given, trying to scare them away from their shelter. Zach held Gray tight, hand over his brothers mouth to help prevent any sound from escaping. Looking around the room they were in, it seemed to be solid built, with no holes in the ceiling or walls. This might be a good shelter, if the giant...whatever that was outside hadn’t already found them. It didn’t look like any dinosaur he had ever seen, and Gray hadn’t known what it was either.

Heavy breaths filled the air, warm and smelling of death and rot, before they receded, heavy steps following. Zach stood in front of Gray, warily looking around for another handful of minutes before finally relaxing. Voice a whisper he turned to Gray and slowly pulled him forward. "We should be OK for now, but that doesn't mean it's gone. Let's head back to the kitchen for now. Four walls sounds real good for my anxiety."

Gray nodded and hummed in agreement. "I don't know what kind of thing that was, but it wasn't a dinosaur I know. Though it had features of at least 5 different predators." Zach made a noise of agreement as he pushed and pulled tables and appliances to keep the doors closed. 

They had spent the rest of the day and night in the blocked off kitchen, checking and packing supplies into the rucksack Zach found earlier. Zach had found some para-cord in the pack and had made makeshift wrist lanyards for the sickle claws so they would always have it on hand. 

Pushing the blockade away from the door, Zach and Gray waited several minutes before even pushing the door open, just to make sure there were no surprises waiting just outside. Glancing around, Zach pulled Gray behind him and headed back to the garage, hoping to at least find a First Aid kit, even if most of it would be expired, the bandages would come in handy.

The back of both Jeeps had one, so they grabbed them and consolidated them into one, discarding all the obviously unusable items and leaving them with most bandages, splints and tools. Placing it into the rucksack, Zach shouldered it and headed out into the forest after a steady look and listen, Gray following behind him. He knew they were north and slightly west of the hamster ball ride, but he didn’t know how far. He also knew the hotel and park entrance were southeast of the hamster balls. Their best bet was to head as south-southeast as they could to see if they could find any help. “We need to stay close, and keep watch for any sounds or movement that doesn’t sound natural to you.” Gray nodded, humming lightly in agreement as his eyes darted to and fro looking for anything suspicious. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

Three hours, multiple dead large herbivores, a few still alive babies of the same species and some small Gallimimus later, they were making their way through what looked to be at least a portion of the Hamster Ball field, and it looked like they were getting closer to the Aviary if the flying dinosaurs were to believed. They were becoming more frequent around this area, so they decided the trees were the best cover. Which meant they would have to loop around the north side of the Aviary in order to stay out of sight and/or range of the aggressive flyers. Zach didn’t think he’d be able to take one of those ones on. He would damn near try though.

They had made it most of the around when a sound alerted then that they were not alone. The cries were pained, and though not very loud, they were still strong. Zach held up a clenched fist, and Gray stopped and shouldered the pack, looking around for the closest tree to climb and get out of Zach’s way. Zach kept an ear on the direction the calls were coming from while glancing around all the brush until Gray gave the signal he was up. 

Crouching down, Zach slowly crept forward through underbrush towards the sound, keeping as low and quiet as possible. There in the middle of a scorched glade was what appeared to be a raptor lightly burned with leaking wounds and what looked like a few broken ribs, if how she was holding herself up was anything to go by. Maybe a break on her left leg as well, since she wasn’t putting any pressure on that side. After a few moments of indecision and glancing at Gray, Zach slowly crept forward, snapping twigs to make himself known as he inched his way closer to the raptor.

Zach stopped just at the edge of the bush he was in, showing himself to her and letting her know he wasn’t there to hurt her. The cries stopped as she snapped her head towards him, a warning growl echoing in her chest. Zach raised both hands up palms flat and open to display he had no weapons on hand besides the sickle claw sheathed at this wrist. “I’m not going to hurt you. I heard your cries and wanted to see what was wrong. I promise I’m not going to hurt you.” Zach stayed crouched for several moments as he waited for any type of response from the dinosaur. 

Finally, after what seemed to be hours but was really only just a few minutes, the raptor settled back down on the ground, eyes still focused on Zach. Deciding that she was at least willing to hear him out, he continued. “Would it be OK for me to take a look and see if there is anything I can do to help you?” Zach waited again, a piercing stare almost unnerving him to the point of leaving before a small nod was given. Zach gulped, steeling his nerves and gathering his balls, and dropped to his knees to do a slightly awkward crawl towards her. He hoped this would prevent her from eviscerating him, but that was entirely up to fate. Slowly he reached a hand out to her face, still out of range of the claws for now, but close enough for her to get a whiff of him and smell his intentions. She took a large sniff, snorted all over his hand (so gross), then looked away. 

Figuring a commentary on what he was doing wouldn’t hurt since she’s understood him so far, he pressed a hand to her green-striped left flank. “I’m going to check your leg here for a break. It doesn’t look like it feels good for you at the moment, but a break here would be bad if you’re going to be alone.” His hand ran along her leg, pressing and pulling a little in place to see what damage he could feel with only a few light flinches from her. He let out a sigh of relief. “Looks like if you do have a break, it’s not bad. I’d guess a sprain. Maybe a week or so before you should be back up and running on it in full health. I can wrap it for you if you want, but I want to check your side first. I might need to grab some herbs to pack on that if it’s bad enough.”

The raptor just looked at him then away again, like she was just waiting for him to get on with it. Zach took that as hurry up and barely glanced his fingers along her side before sighing and moving back. “I have bandages, and we’ve been collecting herbs as we’ve traveled through here.” He looked her straight in the eye. “Can I get my little brother and our pack from him? I gave it to him for safekeeping in case anything happened to me.” 

She tilted her head, then took a longer sniff, considered, then nodded. Zach breathed out a sigh of relief and backed up slowly on his knees until he got to the edge of the clearing, then stood up. Stepping backwards to the tree he saw Gray climb up, he motioned to him. “C’mon down Gray. There’s a raptor that needs help and she’s willing to be nice while we do it.” Gray gasped, excitement rolling off of him in waves as he dropped to the ground.

“We need to be low, just so we keep her comfortable OK? So crouch down a bit like I was and slowly follow me.” Dropping down again, Zach crept forward again at a much steadier pace. “This is my little brother Gray, and my name is Zach. I’ve got a bag here that has a bunch of bandages and herbs in it.” He pulls the pack off of Gray’s back and presents it to her. A small sniff and she nods again, laying down on her side to expose the wound that wrapped her left side down to her lower back near the base of her tail.

Zach pulled out one of the small bowls and a fat stick with a flat end, dumped some leaves into it and handed it to Gray. “Mash that up please. We need to make a poultice for these burns. While you do that, I’m going to wrap her ankle? Knee? This joint here. I felt heat and swelling, so I’m wrapping it.”

Gray was mashing and chattering away a mile a minute to the raptor and Zach, saying everything and nothing at the same time. Zach listened with half an ear, trying to keep the other one focused on their surroundings. He knew the raptor would be able to tell if there was danger nearby sooner then they would, but it wouldn’t hurt just in case. Tying of the ace bandage on her knee? Zach nodded, her knee. He raised up on his own knees to check on the poultice Gray was making. His teachings had been super effective. Gray had made a perfect poultice. Looks like they might have enough for the whole burn and not just the worst parts.

“This part is going to hurt, so please try not to attack me or my brother. We would greatly appreciate it.” She went as still as possible, and Zach grabbed a small handful and started smearing over the entirety of the open burn wound. She twitched at the uncomfortable parts, but had managed to stay still through the entire process. “I’m going to have to wrap this around your torso now, which means I’m going to have to get really close to you. In reach of your claws distance.” She gave another regal nod. Zach leaned in close and practically gave her repeated hugs as he wrapped her side and back in bandages to keep the poultice in place.

Once the bandages were tied off and Zach and Gray had backed up a safe distance, they asked a few yes/no questions. She was hungry, but she would be OK on her own for the time being while they brought her food. Zach told her they passed a lot of dead herbivores, maybe about 12 hours dead. She nodded her agreement she would eat it, and the boys left her to go and gather enough food to feed her and them. 

Some schooling in butchering and fire starting later, Zach and Gray cut the meat into large enough chunks the raptor could swallow them whole, but not too big she had to hold it down to tear it apart. A quick glance to the sky told Zach it would get dark soon. "Would it be ok if we stayed here with you the night? Either in the trees or underneath one nearby? It's getting late, and we haven't exactly been looking for a shelter." A gracious nod from her, and Zach and Gray climbed up into the nearest tree. He tied slipknot around both their chests and the trunk to make sure they wouldn't fall and got as comfortable as he could. "Sleep Gray, I'll keep watch for now, and wake you for watch later." 

Gray hummed in agreement while slipping off into sleep. Zach smiled at him before glancing at the raptor, who had been watching them keenly. He nodded to her, then focused his senses outwards, knowing this would be a long night.


	2. Prey is subjective, the strong survive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the boys get a reptilian roommate, and Zach outruns a two-story powerhouse.

Zach woke to Gray lightly shaking his shoulder, instantly alert with eyes and ears trained to background noises as he focused his attention on Zach. “It’s daylight. You told me to wake you at daylight.” Gray explained. Zach nodded, head swiveling around to get a quick look at their surroundings and a better look at their raptor friend before pulling the slipknots in the harness and climbing down, Gray following slowly. 

Once their feet were back on the ground, Zach pulled out a some of the cooked meat from the night before he had put in their bag and passed some to Gray before taking a few bites himself. Swallowing a few mouthfuls of water after breakfast, he headed slowly over to the raptor and gave her a quick look as he spoke to her. “Are you feeling any pain anywhere?” She shook her head no. “What about any itchiness?” She shook again. “Hungry?” A nod, and Zach tossed her the rest of his cooked meat before dragging over the rest of the leftover meat chunks and tossing them to her. “I want to take a scout around the area really quick, see if I can find a shelter of some sort for until your leg gets better.” He paused and looked towards gray before continuing. “I want to take him with me. Will you be ok on your own for a few hours?”

She tilted her head and looked him in the eye, hers a piercing gold stare. A quick sniff of the air and she nodded, shifting about to get more comfortable. Zach thanked her and hiked his rucksack onto his shoulders, grabbing Gray’s attention and then headed off into the brush. 

He decided that heading south, while maybe safest, would take to long for any type of shelter to pop up since they were in the middle of restricted territory. So north it would be, maybe north-east, since they had come from the north and he hadn’t recalled any type of structure fit for one human, much less two humans and a raptor. Keeping an eye out for any plants that would either help with the raptor’s recovery, or he and Gray could eat, Zach slowly trudged forward.

About an hour into their walk, they stumbled upon what looked to be an abandoned bunker, maybe a guard outpost. It had a door large enough for the raptor to limp into and would shut and had a bar barricade across the door. It also had four solid walls, and a second smaller door leading to a small hallway with latrine on one side and storage on the other.

Zach and Gray went about making sure all unwanted critters were removed and a place for the raptor was made before heading back out to bring her in. They would search whatever supplies were left behind when they get back. Right now, making sure their strongest ally would recover properly and safely is their highest priority.

Zach grabbed some of the para-cord out of the backpack and the razor knife and shaped a few snares for them to check on later. If they were lucky, they might have some form of small game in the next few days. Setting them up a short distance from the bunker, he made sure they were far enough that he would have to walk a few minutes, but close enough to run back quickly. Gray watched the entire setup in fascination.

Standing and wiping his hands clear of shaved wood and dirt, Zach packed everything back into the pack and started leading Gray back to the raptor.

“Snares are a good way to catch small prey like rabbits or squirrels or raccoons, but it’s a one-in-ten chance of catching something that day. That’s why we set so many. It’s not often that you get the chance to take down a large creature, so small critters are what you aim for in between the large ones. And meat spoils easily in heat, so down this far towards the equator, it’s usually safer to have several small fresh kills over one large kill you might not be able to finish or prepare quickly. Unless you’re feeding it to a large creature, or are a scavenger.”

Gray was silently following in Zach’s footsteps, making sure he wasn’t stepping on any large sticks or crunchy-looking leaves while Zach was explaining. Zach had his eyes sweeping everywhere as he spoke, taking stock of their surroundings and if anything looked out of place from their previous trek.

They made it back to the clearing within another hour, the raptor still leaning against the ground in the same position. Zach made sure to make noise before coming back into the clearing so she would be prepared, calling out at the same time that they were back. 

She was looking at them as they came into view, head sweeping back and forth as if looking for any injuries or if any other creatures had followed them. Shaking her head and snorting air out her nose, she looked at Zach and waited for him to say what he wanted to say. 

“We found an old guard outpost that has doors large enough for you to fit through until your leg gets better. It’s about an hour north-east of here. Would you be willing to limp along with us so you have a safe place to recover?”

She looked around the clearing as if considering, then nodded and carefully lifted herself to her clawed feet. She limped slowly over to the boys, carefully putting pressure on her leg and moving slowly. They turned, and Zach let Gray take the lead as he took rear, keeping an extra ear on their surroundings.

They were within sight of the bunker when they heard heavy steps. They all froze, glancing at each other quickly before quickly scanning the area. Zach couldn’t see anything, but the footsteps were getting closer, so he turned back towards the bunker and started them moving again. “If we can get inside before it shows up, we should be ok.” They were 15 feet from the door when a Suchomimus came into their view, looking a little beat up and a lot angry. The raptor screamed at it, but the giant dino took a step closer instead of fleeing.

Zach pushed them both towards the door. “GO GO GO!!! I’ll distract it while you get her inside!” Zach turned back around and crouched, grabbing some of the larger stones and throwing one at the carnivore. “ZA-!” “Get inside Gray! I’ll be back before you know it!” The Suchomimus settled its attention onto Zach, turning in his direction. Zach had prepared to run as soon as it started forward, leaping into a dead sprint and weaving through trees as the first stomp could be heard. 

A roar in challenge and more stomps quickly followed him. Zach glanced a quick look back and saw Gray leading the raptor into the room. Good, that means he doesn’t have to worry about it turning around to get to them. Facing forward, he pushed his legs as fast as they could go, juking around tree trunks and leaping over deadwood to keep his distance. Spotting a tall tree with a fallen branch acting as a natural ramp a few dozen feet in front of him, he turned. Running up the dead limb, he jumped at the top of the cusp and grabbed ahold of the trunk in front of him before scrambling up, climbing higher and higher until he couldn’t climb anymore.

The Suchomimus below snapped its narrow jaws at him, but gave up after a few minutes of stomping and roaring at him. Being so high up wouldn’t get it an easy meal, and it was hungry. It turned and stomped off, supposedly heading to water. Zach didn’t care, he was just glad it was gone.

He waited until he recovered his breath and his legs didn’t feel like they were going to fall off, then waited a little more. Better safe than sorry. Slowly climbing down the tree, he dropped the last dozen feet and rolled into a crouch, listening close for any other sounds nearby. Hearing nothing, he moved forward slowly, then dropped into a light jog until he was able to get back to the bunker.

Zach stopped 30 feet from the door, looked around again, then called out. “Gray? Open the door.”

The door burst open and Gray ran out, leaping at Zach and hugging him tight, eyes dripping faster than his nose. “Zach! I n-n-never thought I’d see you ag-again! I thought you go-got eaten!”

Zach squeezed him tight, trying to assuage his fears and calm his hiccups. “It’ll take more than an overgrown croc to get me.” He pulled Gray around to his side, then moved towards their new shelter. “Is the raptor ok?”

Gray nodded against his side, refusing to let go. “She went inside and st-stood by the d-door until you yelled.”

Zach walked into the room, glancing around quickly before barring the door shut. Thankfully, this outpost ran on solar energy, so it was lit up inside. The raptor had moved over to the nest area they made her and was laying on the ground again, sore side up.

“Let’s take a quick break to calm down and regain energy. I know for sure I need some water and a snack.” Once settled on the ground, they pulled some MRE's out from Gray’s pouch and snacked on those, while Zach pulled out the last of the meat for the raptor. She snapped them up fast, swallowed them whole, and looked for more. Zach held out his empty hands. “Give me about an hour to recover and search this place, and I’ll go check the snares to see if we caught anything.” She shook her head in agreement before laying down again, napping the time away.

Zach finished his MRE off and stood up, stretching his arms up and then squatting down to stretch his legs out as well. Cramps were a bitch with jealousy issues, and he didn’t want to deal with them. Holding a hand out to Gray, he pulled his little brother up and they did a slow circuit of the room, checking all the shelves and drawers for anything useful. 

Old reports and radio equipment that had gone bad were stashed in and on the only desk in the room, and an old map of the original Jurassic Park was on the wall behind the desk. The shelving units had a few spare helmets and backpacks, some old books that looked like they’d fall apart if you touched them, and a rusted old tool box, with equally rusty tools inside. A sledgehammer leaned against the shelves, looking hardly used. It would be useful later, sledgehammers always were. And crowbars.

The other side of the room had six beds lined up across from each other, three on each side. There were trunks in between each bed, and a locker shoved underneath. They checked the trunks first, finding changes of clothes and boots that would be large even on Zach, and Gray would swim in them, but good for emergency purposes. Zach could find a way to fix the clothing up so they fit better later, if they were there that long. 

The lockers were the true light at the end of the tunnel. A small weapons cache in each, including tranq guns, but there were no tranqs to be found. While the guns would have been useful, they were utterly useless without the actual tranqs. A small collection of KA-BAR’s, a hatchet and a serrated-back machete were going to save them so much time and frustration that the kitchen knives they procured yesterday were borderline useless. They’d still keep them, but ow they had an actual line of defense that wouldn’t snap at the first stab. 

Zach was excited. This was like the treasure trove of survivalist weaponry. The KA-BAR’s alone would be worth their weight in gold. They could chop a tree branch in half and still cut hairs afterwards. Zach outfitted Gray with two of them, one on each hip. Zach equipped one horizontal at his back facing his right, one hanging from his belt on his left, and had the machete strapped across his back under the backpack in reach of his right hand.

Deciding that the new knives were better than the junk they had grabbed at the old visitor center, they repacked his bag and grabbed one more off the shelves for Gray to carry, splitting the new knives between both bags and attaching the hatchet onto Gray’s pack. He made sure the rest of their meager supplies and med kits were distributed evenly. You never knew when you would get separated.

Once finished, they went for the bathrooms, which were bare, and then the storage room. The storage room had even more broken electronics, way past expired MRE’s, a couple boxes of Ziploc bags (those went into the packs, because you always had leftover _somethings_ ) and some spare linens. Some cleaning supplies and utensils were scattered around, but there wasn’t anything useful left that hadn’t already been destroyed or rendered unusable.

They settled into the main room again, spare linens in hand and ready to drape them over the cots after they dragged the mattresses off the frames and nearest to the raptors corner as they could get without annoying her.

“We really need to come up with a name for her,” Gray said. “We can’t keep calling her ‘Her’ or ‘Raptor’.” He hummed a bit as he adjusted the straps on his new pack to fit snugly, mind wandering and mouth moving. “Think she might let us try and give her a name?”

Zach shrugged. “She might.” He looked in her direction, but she was still asleep. “Why not think of a few names and we can ask her about it later.” He stood, placing his pack on his back and heading for the door. “I’m going to check the snares I set earlier. I know she’s getting hungry. Want to come with? It’s best to go in teams of two in this type of situation.” Zach looked towards the raptor, who was now awake and looking back at him. “We’ll be back soon, hopefully with something you can eat.” She nodded and stared at the door, like she was keeping watch.

Stepping outside, Zach pulled the door shut most of the way, leaving it cracked enough that just in case the raptor wanted out she could get out, but not so most creatures wandering about would notice. He followed the trail they passed over thrice already that day, Gray following, and set about resetting the snares that had been triggered with no yield, making more snares and setting them, and grabbing the two critters that were caught. What looked like a giant rat, and a decent sized rabbit. 

Zach didn’t even bother killing them. He knew the raptor would enjoy them live, it might even help her recovery. Fresh food did wonderous things sometimes. They made noise to let the raptor know they were there when they got back, then pushed the door open. Zach held up the two critters for her perusal. “We got you something. Thought you might appreciate some fresh meat.” 

Her head perked right up, swinging side to side as she watched the swaying treats. Zach tossed the nutria at her first, which she snapped straight out of the air and crunched in half, blood spraying in a short circle around her and she swallowed one half, then the other down. He grimaced at the mess, then the thought of the smell that would permeate the room later. Tossing the rabbit at her next, he turned as she swiftly killed it and swallowed it whole and headed back to storage where those cleaning supplies were. Not as useless as he thought they would be now. He forgot a wild animal’s etiquette doesn’t quite exist in the wild. Still, the oldest of the bed sheets and some very old cleaner...on second thought, water. Smells and close spaces are bad, especially chemical smells. Water and old sheets can clean just as well as anything else right now. 

Cleaning up the blood spray efficiently, he looked her in the eye. “Gray would like the chance to give you a name. Would that be ok?” She tilted her head as if contemplating, then stared at Gray. She did a sort of half-shrug, half-shake thing, then became still. Zach turned towards Gray. “I think that means yes.” Gray’s smile lit up his whole face.

“I have a couple of names in mind. I’ll just keep going until you hear one you like. Just nod your head at the one you like most.” She nodded, just to make sure he understood that she knew what he meant. “OK. Abby, Bria, Skadi, Dani, Nakia, Ida, Koa, Sa- “a sharp sound and a nod. “Koa?” Another nod. Gray suddenly looked shy. “I like it too. It means ‘brave’. I think it fits you very well.”

The newly dubbed Koa agreed, settling down comfortably in her nest again. Zach pushed the dirtied linens back into the storage room, then led Gray back outside. “We’re going to see what we can find for food for ourselves, since I don’t want us running out of our MRE’s. We’ll be back in less than an hour.” With that, they exited the bunker once more, this time in search of their own dinner.

They got lucky and found a dragonfruit tree growing straight east of the bunker after only a 5-minute trek. Both filled their packs with the fruit and turned to head back, munching on one as they walked. Luckily, they didn’t hear or see anything on their way back that could eat them. 

Emptying their packs after getting back, they ate at least 3 more fruit each and stored the rest in Ziploc bags, to keep them as fresh as possible. Settling in to their makeshift nest of mattresses on the floor, Zach hugged Gray tight and sang him a soft song as they both fell asleep, secure in the knowledge that they were safe for the moment, even if they did have a raptor watching over them. They could deal with every thing else in the morning.


	3. Family doesn't have to be just 'Human'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An inside look from Charlie's POV.

All she knew when she woke up was pain. Hurt and burning and HURT! She cries out, her calls echoing but none were returned. She mourned her sisters/pack/family, feeling nothing but pain and hurt and loneness. 

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the hurt had dulled to a numb-throb, her calls barely leaving her sore throat. 

Sudden sounds from the trees drew her attention towards a pair of two-leggers. The smaller one looking almost barely into adolescence and smelling of hatchling. The bigger one smelling of almost breeding age, but safe. She didn’t understand why, he just smelt like home. 

The Older One directed the Hatchling to climb up into the nearest tree and safe out of the way while he had crouched down and was slowly heading her way. She growled at him lowly. He was close, and she couldn’t defend herself. She let her growl die out when she heard the soothing sounds from his throat, similar to what Alpha always made when she ate bad food. 

At least Older One was smart enough to stay far enough away not to feel her bite.

The soothing sounds he made, as well as his scent of home/wary/comfort helped to clear her head. He smelled of someone in charge. Of protection. Guarding. Blooded. 

Close to being Alpha, but not quite.

She’ll figure it out later, pain and concentration on what Older One wanted took her remaining attention. Where he looked and almost-movements towards her side threw her. He wanted to check her wounds? She didn’t know what to think about that.

The pain was leaking its way back into her center of attention, so with nothing to lose she nods in agreement. She watched him slowly crawl closer on his knees, where she was able to get a better sniff of him. 

He smelled like Parent.

Snorting over his hand, she looked away and tried to focus her attention on watching Hatchling and listening. He spoke gently as he touched her, but she was trying so hard to keep her limbs from reaching out to rip him apart to pay any attention. She vaguely heard something about sprains, but when Healer said no break, she was mostly relieved. She focused on him again; he was asking if he could bring Hatchling down for his healing kit.

She was confused at what he was doing, trusting a stranger to the pack to be within reach of a hatchling, but she wouldn’t refuse any help in getting better. Not the smartest thing to do in such a small pack, but then, showing her this trust also meant gaining theirs, so she let it be. She will teach them the way of pack when she was better.

She gave a show of sniffing the bag Healer held in front of her, even though she already knew there was nothing inside that would hurt her any worse, except for the metallic smell of the sharp/pointy things. Healer removed a few different plants, some making her nose twinge, mashing them together and packing them onto a large white square. It burned on her side, but soon soothed it as well as Healer wrapped it tightly around her midsection, moving close enough she could grab hold and bite, but his smell up close was even better, calm-safe-strong, so much so she relaxed.

Healer finished quickly, but now that some of the hurt was forgettable, she was hungry.

Healer mentioned kills nearby, and they both left to scavenge. A meal and some questions on nesting, she decided that sleeping was best as Scavenger was staying up to watch. She would wake if she heard anything anyways.

She did wake when the Hatchling was woken for his watch only a few hours before dawn. She didn’t motion she was awake, but stayed alert and listened. By the time the sky lit up, and Scavenger woke, nothing had happened. 

He asked about her hurts, and her hunger, then tossed her what he had been eating and the remains of what she didn’t eat last night. 

Scavenger said he was taking Hatchling to scout, so she made herself more comfortable and was prepared to wait, all the while listening.

A few hours later, she heard them come back. She watched them carefully for hurts or other creatures following. Nothing noticeable in scent or sight, so she waited for his finding. He mentioned a safe place, and asked if she would be able to follow him to it despite the pain. It took a moments thought and a glance at the open area around them to nod in agreement.

Slowly standing, she clenched her jaw through the pain and limped after them, moving slowly. She watched their surroundings carefully as they made their way through the brush and trees, keeping eyes and ears alert for sounds of danger. A small movement from Scouter had her noticing the door just as her nose picked up the scent of a large pack enemy. A heavy thump later and she moved as fast as her leg would allow.

She screamed her warning at the giant fish eater, but it was in a rage and ignored her yells, stepping closer. Scouter motioned them to the door as he turned and taunted the enemy away. She followed Hatchling inside as quickly as she could, then sat next to the door in guard.

It didn’t take long for Diverter to make a noise outside, and she allowed Hatchling out to run and greet his Parent after a quick sniff and head shake. Once they were all secure in the den, she collapsed on the nest they made her and ate what was tossed at her before closing her eyes for some rest. Her leg hurt more, but it was to be expected. At least in this den she was safe from any predators and could sleep.

She woke to Diverter and Hatchling leaving, but didn’t move. She still hurt, but she would guard while they were gone. 

He came back swiftly, with fresh meat! Just for her! They were still squirmy, just like she liked! She snatched them straight out of the sir and almost swallowed them whole. A quick snap, a bit of blood, and she was finally full. 

Hunter cleaned up the blood around her. Good, he liked a clean space too. Blood smelled bad after it dried. He said something...a callsign? Hatchling wanted to give her a new callsign. She did her version of a shrug that she had seen Alpha do. Hatchling offered many callsigns, but one stood out. It wasn’t quite right, but close enough that she agreed to it. Koa. Hatchling said it meant she was Brave.

As she twisted Koa around in her mind, memorizing it and setting it as something to answer and call, she remained awake to watch the door at they went back out for their own meal. That they fed her first forced her to rethink her place and their place in the pack. If she didn’t see her sisters or Alpha in a reasonable time, she would either adopt them herself, or join their pack. They knew how to take care of their own. And Healer was smart…for a two-legger.

Her almost/maybe/soon-to-be pack came back quickly, ate their fill, and fell asleep under her watch. Even injured, she was still useful, and she was looking forward to seeing what would happen once she was healed. She couldn’t wait to teach them about proper pack dynamics!

Hatchling was small, but he was learning fast, and wasn’t afraid of doing what needed to be done like most two-leggers. He was quick and even waited on her command before leaving the den. Knowing how to follow pack structure was instinct in him. He would survive longer like than most hatchlings.

Healer she couldn’t decide. He didn’t quite fit into basic pack structure. He did it all. Hunter, Scavenger, Scouter, Diverter, Healer and Parent, all while still just barely out of Adolescence himself! It was like he was forced to be a pack of one plus his young. He understands what it is to be an outlier, and instead of it killing him off, it made him stronger. It didn’t cause him to refuse help either. He maintained pack rationale even as he was refused pack. He was like Alpha, but not quite an alpha. Maybe Alpha-Mate, but until he meets Alpha, she will continue to name him as they go. It was almost fun coming up with new callsigns for him.

She twisted and tilted her head, and watched as Healer curled closer around Hatchling. He is like what her pack could be, if they were still alive. She hoped so, because with Scouter and Hatchling added to her pack, they might be the key to a full pack-bond. If they had had a true/full pack-bond, Angry/Fake-Alpha-with-red-eyes wouldn’t have been able to get inside her head. 

She tossed her head almost angrily. She knew better than to think of the ‘thens’.

Shaking herself and settling further into her makeshift nest, she settled in for a long night watching over her new possibilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while. With the pandemic crap happening, I ended up actually working both of my jobs in 6/7 day weeks. Too busy to type trying to stay kept up with work and my daughter.
> 
> And yes, hidden little treats in this chapter, if you can find them.

**Author's Note:**

> Join us on Chas' Discord server! https://discord.gg/UeDyah
> 
> ***IF YOU HAVE PAID TO READ THIS, IT HAS BEEN STOLEN! I HAVE NOT GIVEN ANY CONSENT FOR ANY OTHER SITE OR APP TO USE MY WORKS!!!***


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